4:11

Don't you think that 4:11 is a good time? I do.

Are you wondering why that is such a good time? Well, it is because that is the time that I got a job offer today. All the waiting has paid off. I can say that I have a job. Well, I will have a job starting in a little under two weeks.

I guess the writing test worked out well. And so did the interviews. I wasn't expecting the planets to align yet, but today was the day, I guess. I'm not complaining!

It is kind of odd. I was unsure whether or not I would find a job that gave me perks like paid time off and benefits. Life as a contractor has become something that I have kind of accepted over the years. I just thought that jobs that had things like benefits and paid holidays were a thing of yesteryear when the dot com bubble hadn't yet burst. But the government is still around, so they still find it important to employ people.

I'll be starting a position with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare before too long. The job sounds interesting and full of variety. It lets me use all sorts of software that is a bit rusty (like RoboHelp, InDesign, and other things that I have yet to learn) and has a high volume of work (which is much better than the alternative).

The only downside is the pay. I will be taking a $3.50 pay cut per hour. That is going to hurt. I know that some of that will even out with benefits and paid time off, but it is still going to hurt. Now I just hope that I can get some other stuff on the side.

My dad offered me an interesting comment. He told me to ask if my previous employer had any part-time work. I had never considered that. It is a position that I could do from home (or in my free time), but might require some meetings that would be during normal business hours. I might propose it anyway to see if they have anything. The worst thing they can say is no.

In actuality, it feels a bit odd to know that I have a job. I have been looking for one for so long and kind of planning that I would be going back to my previous employer (through another contracting agency). I don't think it has officially sunk in yet.

But in the mean time, I am just going to act like it is 4:11 and keep on being pleasantly surprised that I am on the phone call when someone is telling me that they want me to work for them.